


We All Deserve Second Chances (but don't repeat your mistakes)

by justarandomword, WolfishHel



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: And we are still mad at Luther, Gen, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, In which Ben is VERY ANGRY, Klaus Hargreeves Defense Squad, Klaus Hargreeves Deserves Better, M/M, Mentions of Blood, Not Luther friendly, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting, mentions of injury
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-12
Updated: 2019-03-12
Packaged: 2019-11-15 21:35:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,153
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18081320
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justarandomword/pseuds/justarandomword, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfishHel/pseuds/WolfishHel
Summary: Time-travelling gave Ben a second chance at life. He's not about to let Reginald Hargreeves ruin that for him and Klaus.(a.k.a. Reginald takes Klaus' dog tags and the aftermath.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Is this OOC? Yeah probably. Do I care? Nope. This is me being SALTY about a fictional scenario pfft.

Three days.

They had been back for only three days before Reginald decided that, given his children’s ‘unusual behaviour’, extra training was in order.  
Klaus, being Klaus, had been the distraction the last few days. Acting out and jumping around to keep ole’ Reggie’s attention on him - nothing out of the ordinary.  
This, however, had the oh-so-unfortunate effect of giving Klaus a priority pass to their father’s ‘special training’.

Klaus’ training?

Some hours in the mausoleum, naturally. Because nothing was as effective in getting your son back to behaving properly as absolutely traumatizing him within an inch of his life.

And so, on their third day back and his fifth day totally sober Klaus found himself being dragged down a familiar path. He cursed and kicked and tried to tear his arm from Sir Hargreeves’ firm grip, but all he got for his trouble was a set of lovely bruises and an annoyed look.  
His scrawny thirteen-year-old body was simply not strong enough to put up a fight against the grown man.

When the stone door came into view, however, Klaus found himself struggling even harder than before.  
_He wouldn’t go back. Couldn’t, wouldn’t, would_ **_never_ ** _go back._

And yet he did because within minutes they were in front of the door, Klaus hyperventilating and clutching onto the only thing he had left from their life in the future - his dog tags.  
Sir Hargreeves noted the attachment, scowled and grabbed the back of the chain, yanking it over Klaus’ head. It was a tug-of-war and one Klaus couldn’t have won, especially when Sir Hargreeves used Klaus’ shock to his advantage.

Rather quickly for a man his age, he shoved Klaus into the familiar stone crypt. The dog tags were clutched in his gloved hand.  
“I will be confiscating these, Number Four,” he said imperiously. “Safety nets and attachments like these will only bring weakness. You do not use them during training.”

And so before he knew it he was back in the dark. His lungs burned, his skin crawled and he didn’t know if the screams ringing in his ears were his or those of the many, many ghosts in the mausoleum.  
There was no soothing, cool metal on his chest.  
No weight around his neck keeping him grounded.

He felt empty. And he screamed.

* * *

Ben considered himself a pretty rational person. Calm, grounded, level-headed. Whatever.  
The point was, he didn’t get freaked out easily.  
When Reginald Hargreeves returned from ‘Number Four’s extra training’ without Klaus, though, he felt the closest to death he had since Klaus had manifested him in the future (past? Time travel was a nightmare on tenses).

“Where is he?” Ben had dared to demand over dinner.

“That is none of your business, Number Six,” Reginald had said, his voice echoing through the dining room. “Now no more talking, you are interrupting Herr Karlson.”

The firm wave of his knife brought Ben a flash to the past - the day that Five disappeared.

Except on that day, Klaus had been rolling a blunt next to him, while he himself had been reading and Diego had been carving up the table.  
While much of that was the same - including the annoyed looks Five was sending across the table and the moon eyes Luther was making at Allison - there was one very notable difference.

Klaus wasn’t there.

Now, Klaus and Ben had always been close. Since returning to the past, however, this had been a lot more intense. For one, Ben could actually bop his brother upside the head whenever he wanted now. But aside from that very important improvement brought about by _being alive_ , Klaus had been the one constant Ben had had for _years_.

Yeah, his brother may not have been the most stable but he had always been there. And over the past few days, he had been invaluable to Ben, keeping him grounded and away from getting freaked out by the sudden burst of stimulation caused by being, well, alive.

When he was dead, everything had been… muted, sort of. Things weren’t black and white, but he didn’t eat, didn’t smell anything, couldn’t really touch anything either. And everything he _did_ touch was mostly devoid of texture. A solid surface with no identifiable feeling to it.

Klaus had been his rock in that regard - slowly getting him used to textures and smells and flavours and _everything_ again.

And there was no way Klaus would just disappear without warning Ben he wouldn’t be around.  
Now Ben did not pretend to know everything about their ‘father’, but he did know one thing. He had never had their best interests at heart. He only cared about his research and ‘saving the world’. He believed that in order for that to be possible, they needed to reach their full potential and he often tried to accomplish this by pushing them far, far beyond their limits.

Something that had proved counterproductive in the future.  
So, concluding from that, there was only _one_ form of ‘training’ that could keep Klaus from being with them right now.

The mausoleum.

He didn’t want to think about it, the horrible things Klaus had told him about in a drug-induced haze years ago, but given the signs he was looking at, it really was the only place Reginald could have taken him.

God save Reginald Hargreeves’ soul if Ben could confirm he had indeed locked his ghost-seeing son in the mausoleum.  


“We need to go the mausoleum,” Ben insisted later, sometime after dinner. They had an hour of free time before they were expected to retire for the night.

“You know Dad would never approve of that,” Luther sounded scandalized and honestly Ben was so not in the mood for ‘Number One’ and his need to please Sir Hargreeves no matter what.

“Relax, both of you,” Allison said - and boy was it weird to hear her speak when her throat had been ruined not four days ago. “Why is this so important to you Ben?”

“He locked Klaus in there!” Ben paced. “Klaus, who is _sober_ , right now.”

Five, quickly connecting the dots, paled. “And he’s been in there for hours now,” he hissed. “Shit!”

“Exactly,” Ben motioned empathically.

“I still don’t see why this is such a big deal,” Luther said, shaking his head. “Wouldn’t him being sober be a good thing?”

Vanya, who had been silent thus far, spoke up. “It’s bad. Really bad.”

Ben sighed. “Klaus can only see the ghosts when he’s _sober_ , Luther. And the ghosts at the mausoleum? They’re very, very angry. And he’s in there. Alone. For hours.”

“Like me in the soundproof cell,” Vanya murmured bitterly. Ben tilted his head in acknowledgement.

“Yes, except he also has murderous dead who want him to avenge their deaths screaming in his face the entire time,” he said drily. He looked away, out of the window, his face shifting back to something more serious. “From what I know Dad left him in there anywhere from a few hours to _days_ at a time. It’s been about six to ten hours by now.”

“I could probably jump over to there,” Five suggested. Diego shot that down quickly.

“You’re still exhausted from bringing us all here. What if you get stuck in there as well, or you can’t get Klaus out?” He pointed out. “We should sneak out-”

A slam of the front doors, Sir Reginald’s voice calling loudly for Grace and Pogo and then a scream, bone-chilling and high pitched and _familiar_.  
Klaus.  
_Klaus._

Ben ran, five of his siblings hot on his heels.

Number Six’ heart stuttered when he saw the trail of blood leading from the front door. He hadn’t felt this scared since the first time he saw Klaus OD on something given to him by a seedy dealer.  
He shoved it all aside in favour of following the blood right into the infirmary where Klaus - bleeding, struggling, _screaming_ Klaus - was strapped down to the table.

Grace was desperately trying to soothe him and work on the more serious injuries at the same time while Sir Hargreeves checked Klaus’ vitals and Pogo stood to the side watching worriedly.

“Children, out,” Reginald ordered. When they didn’t move he turned to scowl at them. “Out! And to your rooms, now!”

His attention was pulled away from them when Klaus let out a particularly loud wail and kicked out hard enough to bruise himself on the restraints.  
“Enough of this foolery,” Reginald scowled, ripping off his gloves. “Sedate him and treat his wounds.”

“Yes, sir,” Grace said. Her face was serious, perfectly painted lips downturned as she gazed down at her fourth child. The Sir Hargreeves nodded once, then turned and strode out, brushing past them with only a displeased frown in their direction.

With Reginald out of the way, they got their first good look at Klaus.

It was bad.

Scratches on his legs, arms and face, but worst seemed to be the ones on his neck and chest. Like nails had dug into him and tore at his skin until he bled.  
Knowing the dead, Ben wouldn’t be surprised.

Klaus let out a whistling breath and an agonized groan when Grace held down his arm more firmly. His fingers twitched and he tried to move his other arm, only for the rattling restraints to stop him.

Ben couldn’t help himself. He stepped forward and took that hand, holding it tightly and pressing his other hand to the little bit of uninjured skin he could find on Klaus’ shoulder.

“Nooooo,” Klaus groaned. His brow was creased and the parts of his face that weren’t covered in blood looked pale. Too pale.

God, Ben feared for him.

“No, please, no, Dave, please don’t take Dave.” His brother’s thin wail was cut short when Grace pressed the plunger of the needle she had stuck in his arm at some point.

A fast-acting sedative then.  
It was only when Klaus finally fell still and silent that Ben noticed it.  
The dog tags were gone.

Of course Ben knew the significance of that necklace - he’d have been a pretty terrible brother if he didn’t.  
The dog tags Klaus had taken off of his dead lover’s body after a time-travelling incident landed him in the middle of the Vietnam war.  
Klaus, being Klaus, had fallen in love there. Deeply, too, if the way he spoke about this Dave was anything to go by.

He had told Ben about everything the same night they had gotten back to the past.  
Told Ben about how he would have stayed with Dave if the war hadn’t taken him.  
About the life he and Dave had dreamed of (a small house for the two of them, where they could live and be happy and free away from war).  
Klaus whispered the stories of the things that had made him love Dave with quiet reverence and sobbed out the bitter ending to it all - the mission that led to Dave’s death.

This man had meant _everything_ to Klaus in the ten months they had had together. His death had shaken him to his very core and changed him irreversibly. And those tags? They were all Klaus had left of Dave.  
They were incredibly important to Klaus and he had quickly gotten into the habit of holding them, tracing the letters stamped into them and pressing them to his lips when he felt stressed.

So for them to be gone could only mean one thing. Reginald Hargreeves had taken them from him.

And just like that Ben went from concern to pure rage.

Ignoring his siblings’ concerned calls, he stomped out of the room, following the familiar path up to their ‘father’s’ study.

“Ben. Ben! BEN!” He only acknowledged Allison's calls when she grabbed his wrists, stopping him from going much further.

“What,” he snapped back.

“What is going on?” Diego demanded.  
“Why is Klaus like that?” Vanya added.  
“Where are you going?” Five finished.

“Klaus got hurt because our oh-so-dear father,” the sarcasm really couldn’t have been stronger. “Locked him in the mausoleum. The same mausoleum Klaus has had nightmares about for _decades_ by now. Klaus is _like that_ ,” his voice took on a hissy quality. “Because his dog tags were taken from him and he was surrounded by angry ghosts looking to hurt him - the very ghosts he is _terrified_ of. And I,” hissy turned to menacing when his voice took on the doubled quality of Them trying to squirm out from under his skin. “Am going to rip Reginald Hargreeves into _teeny tiny little pieces._ ”

Vanya stepped back, obviously spooked but also angry judging by the way her eyes turned several shades lighter.  
Diego looked unsettled but his burning anger for anything related to Reginald won out over his unease.  
Five just set his face into a stone mask, nodding once and straightening his spine.  
Allison moved to Vanya’s side, but when Ben met her eyes she nodded firmly.  
That only left…

Luther, who had stepped back and was not looking at Ben with a mixture of suspicion and disapproval.

Ben rolled his eyes. Luther, ever the favoured son, cast anything his father disapproved of with a suspicious eye. Even finding out he’d been sent to the moon for _nothing_ meant little to him in that regard. He had convinced himself that “Dad had done so to keep him safe from society and that this was merely an opportunity to convince him he could take care of himself” - Luther’s own words.

Ben privately thought it all to be bullshit, though he never voiced that aloud.

“What?” Ben snapped. “What is it now Luther? I really don’t have time for your pity party right now - I’ve got dog tags to find and a brother to help.”

“It’s just- do you really want to go rampaging in there?” Luther asked, his tone one of a man who thought he was being the reasonable one. “You don’t know if Dad has them. And- and even if he does he probably has a good reason for it! What if you’re just overreacting? Do you really wanna bust in Dad’s door for some necklace because Klaus can’t deal with his issues?”

Rage. White hot rage. If what he was feeling for Reginald was hatred, this was only a step below.  
Like Luther, who had never had any faith in Klaus, who scoffed at him while he was going through withdrawal, who _choked Klaus out_ and _left him dead on the floor in a nightclub_ because _boo-hoo, Dad sent him to the moon,_ had any right to speak about ‘Klaus not being able to handle his issues.’

“If you ever speak about him like that again, you’ll be lucky to ever speak again at all,” he growled. The doubling of his voice was now more like a group of people talking - some high and some low pitched, with his voice a threatening rumble in the middle. “You know nothing, _nothing_ , about Klaus. You have been a terrible brother and a worse leader. Your head is so far up Reginald’s ass that it’s a surprise you’re not picking his teeth from your hair.”

“Ben-”

“No, Five!” Ben shrugged him off. “I’m sick and tired of him acting like he’s the moral know-all of us. Like he’s the only person alive whose actions are always just. I’m tired of him acting like _Dad._ ”

Luther flinched back as if he had been hit. A beat passed, then two, but Ben couldn’t find it within himself to feel regret for what he’d said. It was the truth.  
The blond superhuman tried to look for support amongst his siblings. He found none. Diego simply glared at him, Allison wouldn’t look at him, Five was staring back at him in stony silence and Vanya just stared out of the window with tearful eyes.

He turned around and he left.

Ben let go of the breath he’d been holding, relaxing his body some. That was one confrontation down.  
When he marched down the hallway to his father’s office, he felt secure in knowing four of his siblings had his back.  
He didn’t knock, didn’t wait for their father to allow them entrance. He threw open the doors and strode in.

“Number Six, what is the meaning of this?” Reginald demanded. “That is enough of your ludicrous behaviour today. You will return to your room immediately, or-”

“Where are the tags?” His voice had lost the heat it had had with Luther. This anger was cold. Cold and bitter and cutting.

“What?”

“The tags, old man,” Five interrupted, every inch the tiny bloodthirsty assassin he had become over the years. “The dog tags you stole from Klaus. Where are they?”

“That cheap metal that Number Four clings to like a child?” Sir Hargreeves scoffed. “They are counterproductive to his training. He must learn to rely on nothing but himself and his power.”

(Downstairs, screams echoed again.  
Grace had untied the restraints to treat the injuries they caused, but the sedative had not lasted the hour it was supposed to and Klaus, free and scared and still without his tags, had taken to clawing at his chest and ears.  
The screams of the damned stole his hearing while the flashes of gunfire and grenades stole his sight and the feeling of Dave’s blood on his hands stole the breath from his lungs.)

This was a struggle of willpower and self-control, one that Ben was determined to win. The way They coiled until his skin, waiting for his commands for once, had him buzzing with energy and confidence.

“You will give me those tags,” he leaned in over the desk that he spent all of his childhood hating. The Horror influenced his presence, made it oppressive, heavy, _terrifying,_ even to a man like Reginald Hargreeves _._  “And you will never lock him in the mausoleum ever again. If you do I will take no small amount of pleasure in tearing you to pieces. Bit. By. Painful. Bit.”

“Your siblings-” Reginald wheezed.

“We’ll help him,” Diego promised, his eyes as sharp as his knives.  
“Yes, yes we will,” Five confirmed.  
“If I do happen to hear a rumour that no one found out how you died,” Allison smirked. “Well, unfortunate things do happen.”  
Even Vanya, sweet little Vanya nodded. “Klaus is our brother. He matters to us.” The ‘you don’t’ went unsaid.

Moments of silence passed. Their presence only got heavier. Sir Reginald Hargreeves relented. Reaching below into his desk, he pulled out a familiar box with pearl inlay. Out came the necklace, that he carelessly tossed onto the desk in front of him.

“I will allow you to take the necklace back to Number Four. We will discuss punishment for your actions soon, Number Six,” he said. “Now take it and go.”

Ben snatched up the tags, smirking victoriously. Without another word he turned and left, fairly sprinting down the flights of stairs and back to the infirmary where Klaus (half delirious on strong painkillers) immediately curled around the chain when Ben carefully eased it over his head.

The difference was noticeable. Klaus relaxed, his breath slowing as his heart rate calmed. He ran his fingers over the grooves of familiar letters and numbers and let out a small noise of relief as he traced Dave’s name.  
Smiling, Ben took Klaus’ hand and felt the Others in his chest ease at the contact - a reaffirmation of the safety of the person he’d been closest to for years now. A reaffirmation that death had denied him and one he was so incredibly grateful to have back.

Tomorrow, Reginald might try to dole out punishment for his ‘insubordinate behaviour’.  
Tomorrow Klaus might wake up and not be okay and have flashbacks and meltdowns.  
Tomorrow his brothers and sisters might demand an explanation for today’s events.

That was tomorrow, though. For now Ben was content sitting with his brother, content in knowing he was safe again and he would heal.

This was his second chance and he would not let anything ruin that for him or his family.


	2. The Alternate Timeline Where Reginald Hargeeves Dies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because of the wonderful comments I've wanted to write more. A person said he wanted Ben to 'use his bentacles to murder Reginald' and I felt I had to rise to the call. So I did.  
> WARNINGS FOR BLOOD AND MURDER - IF YOU'RE SENSITIVE TO ANY OF THAT, DO NOT READ.

**_LAST WARNING - BLOOD, BENTACLES AND COLD-BLOODED MURDER AHEAD_ **

* * *

_ “You will give me those tags,” he leaned in over the desk that he spent all of his childhood hating. The Horror influenced his presence, made it oppressive, heavy, terrifying, even to a man like Reginald Hargreeves.  “And you will never lock him in the mausoleum ever again. If you do I will take no small amount of pleasure in tearing you to pieces. Bit. By. Painful. Bit.” _

_ “Your siblings-” Reginald wheezed. _

_ “We’ll help him,” Diego promised, his eyes as sharp as his knives.  
_ _ “Yes, yes we will,” Five confirmed.  
_ _ “If I do happen to hear a rumour that no one found out how you died,” Allison smirked. “Well, unfortunate things do happen.”  
_ __ Even Vanya, sweet little Vanya nodded. “Klaus is our brother. He matters to us.” The ‘you don’t’ went unsaid.

 

It stayed silent. Their presence got heavier. Screams filtered in from downstairs through the open doors.

Sir Reginald Hargreeves attempted to push for control one last time.  
“Number Four needs to learn to stand alone. If he wants that necklace, he can ask for it himself.”

And just like that, his fate was sealed.

Ben unravelled with rage, his chest tearing open in the way it always did when he let Them out. They were eager to play and the terror in Hargreeves’ eyes only egged them on more.

He heard Vanya and Allison scream, Diego yell and Five complained (something about the timeline) but in the end, it didn’t matter much because They struck quick as lightning. Rips, tears, the familiar sound of roars and otherworldly wails.

Blood painted the walls of the study and splattered on their faces.

Reginald Hargreeves’ last view was the dark eyes of his Sixth child glaring down at him, the Horror writhing from his chest and blood on his face.

All too soon They retreated, their bloodlust temporarily sated.

“Well,” Five said, staring at the chair that had housed their father not two minutes ago. “Shit. This is gonna mess up the timeline so much.”  
He nodded to himself, then turned around and stole a bottle of whiskey from the shelf by the door.

“This is mine now,” he said before stalking away.

Diego groaned, running a hand over his head and making a face when it got away red and sticky. “Ew, Ben,” he grumbled.

“I’m sorry,” Ben told them. Diego just shrugged, scowled and stalked off.

Vanya offered a shaky smile. “W-well he did deserve it,” she said, paling when she was faced with a starburst of red on Ben’s front.

“I’m going to take a shower and Rumor Mom and Pogo out of questioning this,” Allison said, gently bullying Vanya out the door. She had seen The Horror at work close up on missions before, but that had been a lot longer ago for Vanya. “You should too.”

Ben found the dog tags he came for in the same pearl-inlaid box that Klaus had sold for drug money in the future. Outside, they were met with Luther looking pale and green. When he saw Ben, he turned red with rage.

“WHAT DID YOU DO?” He roared.

Ben just stared at him, eyes still dark. “What I had to do to save my brother from himself.” And he pushed past the frozen Number One.

He only stopped to wash off the blood and clean the necklace before he basically sprinted down to the infirmary where Klaus (half delirious on strong painkillers) immediately curled around the chain when Ben carefully eased it over his head.

It was an immediate change – Klaus relaxed, his breathing slowing and his heart rate calming.  
He ran his fingers over the grooves of familiar letters and numbers and let out a small noise of relief as he traced Dave’s name.

Smiling, Ben took Klaus’ hand and felt the Others in his chest ease further at the contact - a reaffirmation of the safety of the person he’d been closest to for years now. A reaffirmation that death had denied him and one he was so incredibly grateful to have back.

Tomorrow, he might have to deal with the consequences of killing Reginald Hargreeves.  
Tomorrow Klaus might wake up and not be okay and have flashbacks and meltdowns.   
Tomorrow his brothers and sisters might demand a planning session to take the changes he made today into account.

That was tomorrow, though. For now Ben was content sitting with his brother, content in knowing he was safe again and he would heal.

“Why’s dear ol’ Daddy glaring at me from the corner, Ben?” Klaus’ voice was slurred. He just smiled and squeezed his hand.  
“Don’t worry about it, Klaus. I’ll explain tomorrow.”  
“’Kay,” he sighed.

This was his second chance and he would not let anything ruin that for him or his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so Reginald Hargreeves did in fact get murdered by Ben's bentacles.

**Author's Note:**

> Written by wolfishhel (@imnotlookingforhappy on tumblr), edited by justarandomword, created by us both.


End file.
